Jellynet

O.W.P

2014, edition of 10

€580 framed

This intriguing series of prints by OWP brings together a collection of the artist's ongoing fascinations. In his trademark style, the artist has hand drawn in painstaking detail, a host of surprising icons and symbols which on first glance appear completely unrelated but on closer inspection, links and meaning gradually become clear.
Most of OWP's work is about ways of decoding groups of information. The artist intentionally sets up a situation where different elements first appear quite unconnected but by asking a few questions and with a little lateral thinking we can discover how they relate to one another in bizarre and often hard to fathom ways.
In fact these drawings reflect a relatively modern way of thinking. The artist often references the idea of the 'internet attuned mind'. He has recently stated "When surfing the net, modern minds tend to make fluid changes of direction, connecting complex chains of information, one minute looking at new trainers, then trainers that look like hamburgers, then hamburger restaurants, then a restaurant location, then the history of the location. This could be the home of an 18th century magician to the birthplace of Edgar Allen Poe. Trainers to Edgar Allen Poe in 10 seconds."
The internet is essentially a stream of complex codes in the form of images and text. These works separate out the thinking between each of the subjects, letting them float seemingly randomly among each other waiting for us to pick up the lines of thought and the internal references.
Each work in the series is printed using a new archival pigment process, where inks are laid on to the surface of a coated polyester 'paper', giving these works luminescence and an highly tactile quality, perfectly conveying the original pen-work.
Perhaps this title refers to the amorphous, catch-all way we now collect information, or perhaps the title refers to Jellyfish and the internet, Jellyfish live on tides of fate. They are pushed around with limited control over their own lives. Some varieties of jellyfish have an entire eco system contained within them, harbouring plankton and microbial life that flourishes inside their dome. They then feed off the product of this eco system. They never need to consume anything from outside of themselves and due to over fishing and various other factors, jellyfish may well completely dominate the oceans in years to come.
It often appears that there is a signature of a maker but this is the natural product of chaos. So what are these spheres in the background? Are they a game, magnified grains of sand, atoms even, or maybe they are a return to this computer driven triangular geometry?
Again we see codes, ones and zeros to the bottom right where a signature might be. A helicopter known for it's invisible double helix effect on the air. A pineapple which is again an example of natural, triangular, geometry. And a distinctive pair of glasses which surely reference somebody significant, a scientist or maybe an artist?
Available unframed at 500 euros.

Image size: 700mm x 500mmFramed work size: 740mm x 540mm

Materials: Pigment print on polyester, including signed and numbered certificate of authenticity.